National Life and Accident began in 1900 as the National Sick and Accident Association, a mutual company. It was reorganized as a stock company and adopted the National Life name shortly thereafter.

"Sick and accident" policies

In the early years, the company's business consisted primarily of low-premium, low-benefit "sick and accident" policies, a form of disability insurance that paid the owner a stated amount for every week he was unable to work due to illness or injury. To prevent fraud, it was necessary for the amount of the benefit to be somewhat less than what the insured earned through regular employment. The vast majority of these policies, especially in the early years, were sold on the "debit system" (also called "home service insurance"), meaning that an insurance agent employed by the company, usually the one responsible for selling the policy initially, made periodic visits to the clients home to collect the premium (and, generally, to sell or attempt to sell more insurance). The frequency of these visits varied but was usually (especially in the early years) weekly; in later years, more of the collection visits were on a biweekly or monthly basis.

Industrial life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance

The company soon expanded into "industrial life insurance," so called...Read More